Prickle Forrest Chronicles

June 2023

Dear Pricklers,

Tornados, hail, lightening strikes, and a fried power cord. Oh my!

Didn’t expect June to bring such excitement weather wise. But after the past few years, I don’t doubt the orneriness of Mother Nature. The month started out dry and hot with little rain. Then we get hit on the anniversary of last year’s destructive wind storm with tornados, over 900 lightening strikes, and hail. Now here at the end it’s cool and sprinkles of rain falling all around us. And the temperature? What’s with that? This up and down stuff really is for the birds. But with surviving the past few weather events and joining planet fitness, ironic, huh?

I’m confident things will only get better.

And not to forget our new Pricklers, “Thanks for joining the Prickle Forrest Chronicles. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I love sharing my little neck of the woods. Now read on…

The Past …

So, the reader magnet is still with the editor. Things are moving slowly, very slowly. Frustrated. So, instead, came up with a new one after listening to self-published author, Mark Dawson on his podcast, The Self-Publishing Show.

Just for a hint on what it might be, remember Hazel and Harriet Montgomery? They’re those two crazy blue-haired Antiquers from Whiskey. Remember them now? No, then maybe you should pick up a copy of

Rescuing Whiskey’s Salvation

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KZM7M1C

E-book is $5.99 and Paperback is just a smidge more at $6.14, but don’t quote me on that. Amazon is playing crazy with the pricing right now, but it does benefit you readers, so take advantage of it. I’m not sure how long it will last.

Back to Hazel and Harriet, they’ve decided to help out with the reader magnet. See they have a little gossip rag they want to share. If I can get the graphic art designer to get finished with their cover, I should be launching it by July 1st. Yes, I know, I promised the other one by June 1st, but this one looks like it’s coming into the home stretch and pulling away from the other to win. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

The Present …

Let’s face it, June came in haphazardly and the month isn’t done yet either. Oh boy!

And what I mean by that is that I had no expectations of the weather being crazy and some personal events taking stage. For one thing, my dog guide, Winnie, who is a 13-year-old black lab-golden retriever fell down the steps and pinched a nerve in her back. It’s affected her already weak back right leg. Heartbreakingly, I’ve decided she can no longer do the steps in our split-level home. I really don’t think she minds not traversing them. After all, she’s hated steps since she went to dog guide school, maybe even as a puppy. She, however, is not thrilled at the fact that we are separated. She barked up a storm a few nights ago letting me know how unhappy she might be if I were to make her sleep in the family room all by herself.

So, for now, I’ve taken up residency on the couch. Couching it has made me appreciative of mattress stuffers. And believe it or not, it’s also helped me become more productive with writing. How so? Sleeping on a lumpy couch will make anyone get up and want to write. So, when my back aches, I grab the heating pad and Tylenol bottle and head for the computer. If anyone can suggest an air mattress brand, I’d be grateful.

Now awake, I sit down and work on writing… well I did until the next disaster.

A horrible storm rolled through our neck of the woods last week with the high winds, hail, tornados, and over 900 lightening strikes that managed to fry our router and my power cord to my laptop. All will soon be fixed. I’m currently writing from my ancient laptop and my iPhone. Woohoo! Woohoo!

The storm put me back on my writing for about five days. Ugh! Not the easiest thing to write on your phone. Plus, the stress it caused knowing it would be a 50/50 chance I’d be able to recover my files. BTW… files were recovered. Woohoo!

Not sure if it’s the Muses tactic to talk to Mother Nature and arrange for that little display of bad weather to get more out of me, but we did manage to get our little “grove project” up and running due to shear desperation and the use of my ancient computer dating back to the days of XP.

Do me the favor please, check it out and send me a message from the site and let me know what you think. go to

https://prickleforrestbooks.com

Miraculously too, my website is now updated, which you should check out https://chrissyhartmann.com

And the new magnet is done, all but for the cover, which I’ll hopefully have available on Book Funnel by July 1st.

I’ve had fun putting together a temporary outline for my next book. I don’t think it will be part of the Whiskey Salvation series, but as I type this now, thoughts are running through my head getting the Muses all excited. I can tell already they want the challenge to make it part of the Whiskey Salvation Series. Definitely going to have to give this some major thought. It would fit… sort of. After all, it will be a contemporary western romance but with some definite fantasy/paranormal aspects to it. I’m really excited about this one, so hopefully, it will push me to get the third book of the Whiskey Salvation Series done quicker. After I get this newsletter out, I’ll be cracking that book open to write. And let’s not forget I still need help naming Josiah’s 4-seater Cessna 172 that is black and silver. At the moment, the name suggestions submitted are

Titan, Bullet, Silver, Bessie, and Windfall.

Which do you like? Please send me your suggestion or opinion of one of these. Contact me at https://chrissyhartmann.com/contact

I’ll be posting the winning name soon.

Indie Author Shout-Out…

Get, RETURN POLICY by Hailey Dickert. She’s written another contemporary sports romance. If you liked her first novel, The Sister Between Us, then you’ll love Return Policy. It’s now available here…

https://a.co/d/8rVODWB

Return Policy is the first installment in the Crystal Bay University series.

This is a college sports romance about escaping your past and welcoming the good things in life even when it feels like the world is falling apart. There are tons of witty banter, text exchanges, and all those early relationship butterflies, paired with multiple plot twists.

Elijah Anderson

I was the big man on campus.

Everything in my life was going exactly according to plan until a wrecking ball reminded me that there were more important things than touchdowns, booze, and pretty girls.

In the most turbulent time of my life, I felt lost and defeated until the moment my eyes landed on her.

Sophia Summers is everything I never knew I wanted. A sweet shot of sunshine in the unrelenting hurricane.

There’s just one little problem. She doesn’t trust in love, and she definitely doesn’t trust me.

But I’m a patient man, and she’s worth waiting for. Soon she’ll realize that I want every part of her—the darkness, the light, and the shadows in between. I’m already hers, whether she likes it or not.

No returns, no refunds.

This is the first novel in the Crystal Bay University series by Hailey Dickert.

Return Policy can be read as a standalone; however, since Sophia is a side character from Dickert’s first novel The Sister Between Us, it is suggested to read that first for the best reader experience.

The Future …

I’ll be signing books at the 2023 Northeast Ohio Indie Author Book Expo in Avon, Ohio on September 24th from 1 pm to 5 pm. Then again in November at the Massillon Public Library’s author book fair. Date to be announced soon. Both events will have lots of great books to add to your reading collection. Other than these two event, I should be writing and editing. Don’t forget to follow me on:

Twitter — https://www.twitter.com/USAWriter355

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/USAWriter355

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/usawriter355

Stay prickly my friends!

Chrissy Hartmann

Prickle Forrest LLC

Copyright 2023